Tracking Gwen Stacy
by ceg99
Summary: What would happen if Shield saw the connection between Captain Stacy and Spider-man and decided to talk to his family? Gwen Stacy gets followed by Black Widow for a while... Set post Amazing Spiderman and Post Avengers.
1. Chapter 1

**No Amazing Spiderman 2... yet**

Prologue

Nick Fury was tired of this job.

He studied the screen in front of him carefully, watching for that telltale flash of red and blue that no-one seemed to be able to find. He was watching replays of news clips from the night of the Oscorp tower crisis, and it was becoming frustrating. Everywhere on the screen you looked, there was the Lizard (as he had been dubbed by the media), but the vigilante that he was looking for was only seen in one or two frames. The longest and best clip was one that had been taken from a police helicopter, just after 'Spiderman' had been tasered.

Director Fury frowned. It was clear that this man was not normal. He watched with his one eye as Spiderman was shot with a taser bullet and fell to the ground. The man on screen lay there, visibly jerking as he was repeatedly electrocuted. The police approached, lifted the man and removed the bullet from his chest.

_Their big mistake._ Fury thought to himself.

The policemen on screen slapped handcuffs on him and the Police inspector- _Chief Stacy_. Fury remembered. _The man found dead atop the tower_. Chief Stacy slowly and triumphantly pulled away the vigilante's mask.

_Brown hair, and skinny._ The Director noted to himself. His eye was glued to the screen, watching intently- he knew what happened next. The man broke his handcuffs and swiftly dispatched all of the police officers. Spiderman froze on screen as Chief Stacy pointed a gun at him. And as the formerly- masked man turned around, he seemed to freeze in shock. For some unknown reason, the Chief let the man put his mask back on, and swing away. However, as the vigilante made his great escape, an officer fired, and hit him in the leg.

The shots of Spiderman cut out after that, instead cutting to pictures of a giant lizard climbing Oscorp tower rapidly.

"Agent Hill!" Fury called, "I think we need to pay the Stacy's a visit."

"Sir?"

He sighed; exasperated that no-one else had seen it. "Chief Stacy was pointing a gun at Spiderman, but when he saw who it was, he let him go. They must have known each other- therefore, we need to go and see if his family knows anything."

"Yes, Sir." Agent Hill started to go, "I'll get Agent Romanoff onto it."

She left.

Agent Coulson turned to Fury, grinning widely. "Another for the initiative, Sir?"

The Director continued to watch news footage, looking for any more possible leads. "Maybe."


	2. Chapter 2

**I have the worst sense of responsibility ever and a LOT of schoolwork. Please DO NOT expect regular uploads.**

"Hello there!"

Gwen Stacy started, her eyes red and puffy from tears. It was her last period of the day, English, four weeks since her father's death, and three weeks since Peter's rejection of her.

The girl next to her tried again, "Hi there, I'm Natalie! What's your name?"

Gwen stared at her for a few long moments before her words finally clicked. "-oh! Sorry, I was just thinking... I-I'm Gwen, Gwen Stacy."

The red-headed girl next to her cocked her head to the side. "Why are you crying?"

"Oh, don't worry about it; I wouldn't want you to get all tangled up in my problems." Gwen smiled a little bit, "So, Natalie, what about you?"

The English teacher began lecturing up the front, something about plot lines, and the two chatting girls lowered their voices.

"What?"

"Tell me something about yourself... Um... What's your last name?"

Natalie looked a bit stymied for a moment, then she composed herself and she just looked plain annoyed. "Barton, my last name is Barton."

It was at that moment that Peter himself swept in for class, epically late, as per usual.

"Late again, Mr Parker." The English teacher said without turning from her blackboard.

Peter slipped into the seat behind Gwen, "I'm sorry Miss I promise it won't happen again." He dumped his bag.

"Don't make promises you can't keep Mr Parker." The teacher said, sounding bored.

Peter leaned forward and whispered in Gwen's ear, "But those are the best kind!"

A wide smile began to grow on her face.

* * *

"Sir" Agent Hill said in a hushed tone. "The camera's working, and Agent Romanoff has made her first move to approach Miss Stacy."

Fury approached the screen, watching the grainy shots from the video camera hidden in Agent Romanoff's earrings.

"How're they doing?" he questioned.

Hill looked nervous, "It's been mostly fine. They've engaged in casual conversation, exchanging manes and such. Miss Stacy appears to have taken an immediate liking to Romanoff. Although..." The Agent hopped from foot to foot, "There was almost a slip up in her cover."

"What?!" Fury couldn't imagine Natasha Romanoff making a mistake.

"Romanoff hesitated to tell her last name. Who chose Barton, by the way sir?"

"Who do you think?" The Director muttered under his breath, jerking his head towards a certain genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist who was reclined on a sofa in the corner of the room.

"Oh boy" Hill gasped, "He is seriously going to _die_ when Nat gets back."

Fury sighed and shook his head, staring intently at the screen once more.

"I know."


	3. Chapter 3

Gwen Stacy tried to focus on her homework, staring intently but at the same time blankly at the computer screen. She had an essay due tomorrow, but she was finding it difficult to say on task, what with the snippets of memories that kept assaulting her senses. Mostly the time after her father's death, but her thoughts kept straying also to that new girl that had sat down next to her, engaged in friendly conversation...

_"It's okay you know, to cry over it." Nat leaned over and looked at her._

_Gwen started, trying to keep hold of all of the precious emotions that threatened to spill forth._

_"I... I don't know what you mean." She tried to plaster a smile on her face, but it probably looked like a grimace._

_Natalie just sighed, and went back to her lunch._

Gwen forcibly pulled herself from the memory, and sighing dejectedly, continued with the essay. There was something odd about Natalie Barton, and Gwen took it upon herself right there and then to find out what.

* * *

_Blue eyes... rimmed with red and swollen every single day._

Gwen had stayed that way for a long time, constantly breaking down into bouts of sobbing; at home, at school, once even on the middle of a sidewalk on her way to work. It must have been difficult to overcome, losing her father, but she was doing her best. Probably one of the most difficult tasks for her was to come back to Oscorp, a place that housed so many bad memories. But she had managed it in the end.

And Peter had just watched her...

Those few sad months after the funeral must have been absolute hell for her family, and Peter shuddered to think that he had put them through it.

The worst part was his inability to help her through it. It tore his heart out to see her trying to hide her tears at school, with all of the girls huddled around her trying to provide comfort, but being able to do nothing but sit and look on and hope that she would be alright.

Peter himself had buried himself in his work to contain the bad thoughts, chiefly working on making repairs to his costume. On that matter, a few days of work on it had proven it unsalvageable, so he had resolved to begin again from scratch, making some minor costume modifications. It had been a good distraction, working on his new suit, and imagining what could make it better. Overall, it had turned out well. There were a few tweaks, but nothing so drastic that he wouldn't be recognized.

When Peter had finally worked up the nerve to announce to Gwen his big revelation, she had smiled for the first time in months, and he swore that he had never been so happy.

If only that moment hadn't been marred by a red-headed girl looking on curiously. Peter could have sworn that she was taking _notes._

**Yaaas! It is the amazing Spiderman 2 costume. But don't worry, because in my imagination, that movie didn't happen until waaay later, like a yearish, so I'll have time to slot my story into the timeline. **

**Oh! Please do reviews. I really really really really like them, so thanks to the people who've done them so far.**

**Bye.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Apparently I need a disclaimer, so, I don't own the Amazing Spiderman or the Avengers, however much I wish it were otherwise.**

Peter swung around another corner, gaining momentum as air rushed past him.

He was busy on his usual night-time rounds, looking for any crime to fight in his newly repaired suit and just enjoying himself in general. With his eyes peeled wide looking for anything suspicious, it was hard to ignore the bobbing head of short red curls slipping along. _Gwen's new friend._ He remembered. Without thinking, he began to follow her, keeping out of the girl's sight.

After a few minutes of swinging along behind her, he decided that she was going too slowly, so Peter alighted on a roof and began to tail her from above. _Why am I even bothering? I have crime to take care of._ He turned to go, but as he did so, he saw the girl slip down a side alley. This wouldn't have bothered him if she hadn't been followed by a group of fairly rough looking men. Peter thought he saw a glint of metal, so he slipped silently to the top of the alleyway and began to crawl down the wall.

_There!_ The red-head was walking down the alley, but what she couldn't see, and Pete could was the men lurking just around the next corner, and the men slowly approaching from behind, cutting off her exits...

As the girl tried to walk faster, the men behind her jeered and called out to her. Gwen's friend reached the end of the alleyway, and turned the corner, but was grabbed. In an instant, her assailant was on the ground being electrocuted by some strange mechanical devices previously hidden on the girl's wrists. Before Peter could intervene, she was taking them all head on, flipping them across her shoulder and lashing out with fists and boots. Peter watched all of it wide eyed, and before long she was walking off calmly as if it had never happened, not a hair out of place...

Peter had to tell Gwen.

* * *

_Tap, tap, tap._ Gwen Stacy groaned and opened her eyes slowly, frowning at the sight of her boyfriend leaning up against the glass of her window, tapping away. She glanced at the clock: 2.56am.

"Don't you ever sleep?" she murmured, lifting the glass pane. Peter hopped inside, settling down on her bed.

He chuckled a bit, "I needed to talk to you."

"About what? And why so late?" She glanced pointedly at the clock again.

"I-I saw something odd, when I was out earlier, doing my rounds." He scratched the back of his costumed neck, as he usually did when he was nervous about something. "You know your new friend-"

"-Oh please don't tell me you're getting jealous." Gwen rolled her eyes, her fatigue starting to take its toll.

"No, no, no... nothing like that. It's just..." He was freezing up again.

"Hurry up Peter, my bed is calling."

"Isawyourfrienddoingcrazyninjastuff!"

Gwen tapped her ear, "Wwhaaat? Say it again, slower."

Peter took a few deep breaths. "I saw your friend Natalie get followed into an alleyway by some thugs, and she took them down like... nothing I've ever seen."

Gwen rolled her eyes again. "Well, did you consider that maybe she does self-defence? It's pretty common nowadays. And anyway, couldn't this have waited until we were at school?"

Peter blushed, a bit embarrassed at his overreaction. "Oh, um. I just wanted to... warn you- just in case. You're always right Gwen. Sorry for waking you... I'll just, go." He slipped out, shutting the window behind him, and swung off into the night.

Gwen sighed and rolled her eyes for the third time that night, gratefully diving back into bed and burrowing under the covers as sleep once again overtook her.

She woke up the next morning tired, as she had been plagued by dreams of Doctor Connors spearing her father on gigantic lizard claws for the rest of the night. Gwen headed to school bleary eyed and depressed.

**Tada! Sorry I took so long on this chapter, but I've had two weeks of exams, and it's been horrible. I'll try to update more frequently in future.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I know it's been a****_ long_**** time, but I have no regrets! :D I'll do my best to write longer chapters now to make up for my long absence.**

'Natalie', glanced at Gwen, who was eating her lunch on the bench next to her. Maybe now was the time to bring it up... Yes. When she was distracted, and therefore susceptible. Natalie cleared her throat softly, and the blonde- haired girl next to her glanced over.

"So... is there anything you want to talk about?" She looked pointedly at the brown haired boy that Gwen kept discreetly glancing at.

"-no." She replied a bit too fast.

Natalie leaned forward and met Gwen's eyes. "Oh, really...?"

Gwen sighed suddenly and muttered, "It's just... my... Well, I suppose he's my ex-boyfriend now..." She shifted uncomfortably, "His name's Peter, Peter Parker."

"Oh? And why did you guys break up?" She prodded, genuinely curious; it had been a long time since she had taken part in schoolgirl gossip.

"He said he was trying to keep me safe." Gwen rolled her eyes, clearly unconvinced, "But he forgets that I can take care of myself, I'm not a child."

"Safe from what?" she put concern into her tone, but Gwen hesitated to answer anyway. "Hey, hey." Fat tears had begun to roll down Gwen's cheeks. "Oh, I'm sorry!"

Natalie put her arm around Gwen's shoulders, "You don't have to tell me."

"I'm sorry." Gwen angrily dashed her tears away. "You're my friend, but there are some things you just don't share. It's my father; he made Pete promise before he died that he would stay away from me..."

"But...I thought your Dad died on Oscorp tower?"

Gwen blanched. Damn, she'd pushed it too hard, now the girl would shy away.

"H-he did... This was before that, before the whole lizard thing." That was a definite lie. Natalie could tell from the way Gwen's shoulders had stiffened.

She sighed. "Oh, Gwen... I'm sorry I brought up the subject, I know you don't like talking about your father."

Gwen burst into sobs, and let herself be subjected to a comforting hug.

When Gwen had calmed down, Natalie quietly got out her logbook, and began to scribble down the information she had collected. Gwen looked at her quite suddenly. With her eyes tinted red, she was quite a terrifying sight.

"What is that-" She had made a wild grab for the log book, but Natalie had yanked it out of reach before she could lay one finger on its leather cover.

Gwen looked hurt, and Natalie knew she had to give an explanation. Luckily, she had prepared for a moment just like this one.

"It's my journal. Sorry Gwen, but there are some things that you just don't share with your friends." She smirked.

Gwen glowered at her.

"Anyway, change of subject" Natalie said hurriedly. "So, I was just wondering what you thought-" She dug through her schoolbag and held up a newspaper with a picture of Spiderman on the front. "- what you thought of this Spider-guy. Personally, I think he's pretty awesome, I mean, he's spider-themed, so duh... I love spiders."

Gwen had stiffened at the sight of the picture, Natalie had seen her visibly tense up. As she watched, Gwen tried to regain her composure and relax, to avoid giving anything away. "Meh, I dunno. Isn't he just a guy who swings around in spandex with a hero complex and too much energy?"

Not a lie... but probably not the whole truth either. After all, her reaction to the word 'spider' said enough. "I don't know, you tell me. I'm fairly new here, remember?"

"Uh...well-" Gwen stopped talking abruptly when she noticed that the 'journal' had made a reappearance. "Why is it that you always seem to write in that book whenever you talk to _me?_ Do I bore you so much that you just have to find an outlet?!" Gwen was getting angry, her emotions in the way once more. "Because I don't-"

"No." Whatever Gwen had been about to say was forgotten as Natalie swiftly cut her off. She didn't need a spectacle in the schoolyard; she needed information, and she wouldn't get it from sparring with Gwen. "No, it's exactly the opposite. You're the best part of my day, and I always think that what you have to say deserves a prime part in my journal."

Gwen's irritation was obviously immediately forgotten, as Natalie's words dissolved the block of anger that had been building. "Aww, thanks." The logbook was snapped shut as Gwen leaned over for another hug.

"Oh! While we're on the subject of my ex, he seems convinced that you've been going around beating up thugs in alleyways."

It was Natalie's turn to stiffen; how had he seen that?! Natalie was sure she had been in a very secluded area, there was no way he could have witnessed it- unless... Unless Gwen's friend wasn't as normal as he let on.

Gwen seemed to notice the shocked and apprehensive look on her face. "Oh, don't worry 'bout it. He's always been a bit paranoid after all, and he tends to lie."

Natalie tried for a laugh, but it came out sounding suspiciously like a gag. "Yeah, he must have lied."

Natalie hurried off quickly, leaving Gwen staring after her, laughing nervously. Natasha had to report her change of target to her superiors.

When she had entered a relatively empty area, she unclipped her earring and spoke into it. "Clint?"

"_I'm here Tasha."_

"I'm changing targets. When I get back, have all the files you can find on Peter Parker ready."

"_I'll get Tony onto it, he's the brilliant hacker, after all."_

"Thanks." She clipped the microphone back onto her earlobe and walked smoothly away, unaware of the brown haired boy that had been listening to her entire conversation from around the corner.

**And that's done. I don't own Spiderman or the Avengers, because if I did, I would not live in a cave with a goat. Didn't quite make the 1000 word mark, but I'll try for it next chapter. Buh-bye.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Ok, so I decided my storyline was going too slow, so I decided to skip some time. So, by now, Black Widow is following Peter after having accessed his files, and strongly suspects Peter of being Spiderman. In addition, Peter also thinks that Gwen's friend is definitely not what she seems. I'm going to start going more by Spiderman 2 now, so the place where I'll begin the chapter is just after Max's (Electro) accident in Oscorp. Enjoy!**

**I don't own the Avengers or the Amazing Spiderman 2. However, I like to pretend I do whilst fondly cuddling my goat and pretending that she isn't a goat and that I don't drink her bodily fluids with cereal.**

Fury was, as usual, frustrated. He knew Oscorp had had some sort of accident in one of their labs (again), but they were covering it up well. Not even 24 hours afterwards, Oscorp had deleted all records of the worker's existence. The person in question was called Max Dillon, an electrical engineer that worked in the energy facilities underneath the building.

"I don't believe it." Tony stated, looking dubiously at his Stark pad. "How could they completely hide something this big?! Especially from me! I have the best sources and tech in the whole of America, and yet I can't even find out where this guy lived, let alone what happened to him."

Tony stood and paced, running his hand along his scalp.

"Stark." Fury said in a monotone. "Just sit. I've got even better hackers than you onto this."

"No, no, no!" Tony wagged a finger", If I can't get this info, then they've either deleted the files, then the back-up files, then the ghost files, or this guy, 'Max' never existed." His eyes narrowed, "Tell you what though, if it's the first option, then they've got some damn good techies, and they _really _want to cover this up."

"Shut up Stark."

**Five minutes later**

"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Tony held the pad under Fury's nose. "Look at this! I get one good hit, and it's gone."

Before his eye, the files for Max Dillon were disappearing from the Oscorp top secret databases.

"But... I'm not the only one trying to access it?" Tony's eyes narrowed. "Hang on... Gwen Stacy? As in the Gwen Stacy that was being followed by Nat?"

Director Fury growled. "Gimme that Stark." He inspected it carefully. "Coulson!"

The man came running like an eager puppy. "Sir?" He had a half grin on his cheeks.

"Get Nat back on Stacy... Actually, no. Leave her with Parker and get Barton onto this."

"Give it 5 minutes, sir." Coulson ran off to do the Director's bidding.

Stark poked Fury in the back, "Why would Stacy need a spy tailing her? We already established that she isn't the one we're looking for. I thought we said that Parker was the more likely."

Fury spun the pad around for Tony to see, revealing the great red alarm signal on the screen. "Because she got caught."

* * *

Shield could do anything, Clint decided, as he rode up an escalator in Oscorp's lobby. It had taken roughly 4 minutes for them to make him a false identity as an intern, (a decidedly older one) brief him on the situation at hand, and put him outside Oscorp tower. He knew where Gwen Stacy worked, but he doubted she would have stuck around if chased by security guards.

Clint discreetly let himself into a toilet cubicle and pulled out the handheld device that allowed him to access security feeds. It took him a moment, but his eyes finally fell upon a grainy image of Miss Stacy towing her boyfriend, Peter Parker (It was hard to ignore a face that was all over SHIELD right now) into a maintenance closet. To his surprise, the guards missed them entirely.

He sighed, for it wouldn't be long before the guards cleaned up their act. Clint had to get up there, _now_.

**Exactly 1.35 minutes later...**

He arrived, out of breath, and leaned against a corner near the closet where he knew Miss Stacy was hiding with Parker. Without warning, Peter strolled out and grabbed- no- he shot a tiny string of spider web! Well, that proved all of shield's theories about this boy correct. In any case, he acquired a mug of coffee. Sipping, he walked along the corridor a few paces as Gwen bustled out of the closet and to the lifts. Clint tensed as he noticed security coming from the other direction, his hand slipping to a small pistol under his jacket. He needn't have worried. In a matter of seconds, Parker had spilled coffee on the men, tied their shoelaces together, and hindered them in almost every other way possible as the girl made her escape. The guards got their act together just in time to see the lift doors close in their faces as Gwen Stacy headed to safety.

Turning his attention to Parker, Clint saw him jump and click his heels together as he walked, before continuing as per usual.

"What're you doing here?"

Clint had spun around, pistol out and pointed at the one who had spoken before he could even comprehend his actions.

Natasha lowered the muzzle of his gun from between her eyes.

"What're you doing here? This was _my _assignment." She insisted.

"Nat." Clint smiled. "I was just making sure that Gwen Stacy made it out of the building safely. But, it seems that I wasn't needed. Her arachnid boyfriend took care of it all for me."

She smiled a bit. "So you figured it out too?"

"How could I not? Just looking at him for longer than a minute completely gives it away."

Nat rolled her eyes, "Yeah, gotta admit you're right there. Parker's rubbish at keeping secrets."

"Come on. We've both finished up here. Let's get back to Fury and tell him what we know."

"Why not just tell him over the comm.?"

Clint grinned again, looking at Natasha as he walked, "'Cause I wanna see his face."

**If you did not understand my chapter, then you are silly for not reading the note at the top of my chapter. My chapter is now regrettably over, and it was in fact a very cool chapter. My chapter was also the first of my chapter's that I've written in my assembly of my chapters in a long while. But my head is now full of my chapters and I will be adding more of my chapters as soon as I can. I hope you have enjoyed my chapter.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm sorry I've been on such a long break. I actually forgot what had happened in the story and had to go read it again before I could get to writing! Same old, same old. Good day.**

**As per usual, my ownership is decidedly limited, although I have gotten my first laptop! No superheros though... bummer.**

The reaction was, as promised, spectacular, and involved what was possibly a new world record in drink spitting. Fury's face had been bright red for hours, as, unfortunately for him, his act had ben discreetly recorded by a nearby smartphone, and became a YouTube hit within minutes, under the title, _Idiot Boss Spits Coffee across Bridge!_

Poor Fury.

* * *

Dying… his friend was dying and he had no idea what to do. Peter paced in his bedroom, trying to clear his head enough to plan a comprehensible course of action.

His progress so far was something like, _'Blood? Blood… spiders, um… England. Er… go to Harry, Oxford, explain, Gwen…'_

He gripped his temples and shook himself. Harry's problem took priority, Gwen could wait. He dressed in his suit, threw on some casual clothes on top, and left for Harry's apartment.

* * *

"_I can't give you my blood."_

The words of the conversation were still ringing in Harry's ears. How dare he? How dare he have the audacity to come in here and turn him down flat! Him, an Osborn!

He took his anger out on a tray of expensive spirits, half yelling and crying, "You're a fraud, Spiderman!"

He mentally screamed at himself, screamed at his father, screamed at the vigilante-turned-hero who would let him die if he had his way.

No, no, screw him. Harry was going to get through this. He would go to Oscorp, and he wouldn't stop looking until he found answers. In this state of mind, he stormed out of the doors of his apartment, ordering is driver harshly to take him to the Oscorp tower.

It took him three hours of fruitlessly rifling through files before he got the message the world was sending him: _There isn't a cure._ Naturally he headed straight for the liquor cabinet, downing at least two glasses from the crystal decanter before his anger, and his determination, melted away, leaving only his depression and despair.

What had he been thinking? That he would find some 'miracle cure' and that all his problems would be solved? His father had tried with no success for almost forty years to achieve what Harry had foolishly expected to stumble upon within hours.

He bitterly swirled his drink around to take another gulp, but was interrupted by a shy voice in the doorway.

"Harry… I think I know how I can help you."

His determination came back with a vengeance.

**Short and sweet, people, just the way I like it. Triangles forever!**


	8. Chapter 8

**This is last chapter. Took me a while, but I think that I did a pretty good job. Didn't want to cut it off here, but I'm losing my muse; less frequent updates owing to less free time, less plot development in each chapter, and so on.**

**Blah da di dah, no superheroes in the cave, my goat disapproves!**

**Oh, and this chapter has really big spoilers for Amazing Spiderman 2. Just letting you know. Bye.**

She had come rushing out of the control building as soon as she could, fearing for Peter's safety after the violence of that evening. He was all right, thank goodness, and their eyes had met in an instant with simultaneous sighs of relief.

Peter heaved himself from where he had lain on the asphalt, a deep breath escaping his lungs through his mask. He looked exhausted.

Gwen made her way closer to him, a skip in her step and a wide grin on her face.

He called out to her, a smile in his voice, "I think we can still make your flight!"

They had both frozen as a chilling laugh echoed through the air, the hair on the back of her neck had risen, and it had all gone downhill from there.

* * *

"Sir, disturbance at the power station."

Director Fury took a sip of his coffee, and turned to Coulson tiredly, "What is it?"

"Spiderman has been sighted there, along with Max Dillon." He lifted his tablet, revealing a grainy image of the Oscorp funded site. The picture was all telling.

The stoic director spat his drink everywhere, and an agent sniggered off to the side, "Tell the Avengers to get their asses in the Quinjet." He stated bluntly. "Whoever's available; Rogers, Stark, I don't care, just make it _fast_."

Coulson gave a nod, and hurried off to comply.

Fury turned to the agent who had laughed earlier, vengeance in his eye. "Something to say, kid?"

* * *

Peter's eyes were wide with fear to match hers, the last chime of the bell tower still ringing in his ears, and his hand reaching out even as he knew it was too late. She screamed, her plaintive cry jarring him into movement as he shoved his former best friend away, paying no attention to him as Peter dove after the girl he loved. The bell tower was crumbling to pieces, the fragile harmony that had kept it as a whole for these long years disturbed, and the cogs rained down around them as they reached for each other.

Peter pressed the button that activated the web-shooters; web-shooters that had been fixed by none other than the girl that now needed his help. He only hoped he could repay the debt, daring to believe for just a moment that this could all be okay after all.

Then the grim reality came rushing back as their gazes met, the web connected, and her eyes closed forever.

* * *

For hours he had just watched her, refusing to believe in the vacancy of her expression, nor the slow trickle of blood that wound down her face. He had cradled her head, embracing her for the last time as if she wasn't just an empty husk, a shell of herself, until the screeching of sirens had broken him out of his stupor.

Peter left one last kiss on her forehead before they parted ways. The finality of that last kiss still haunted him. He had attended the funeral of course, but it had seemed surreal, lacking, as though seen through a stranger's eyes. That kiss had been a final goodbye, not just to her cold body; it had felt like much more, as though her spirit had lingered for that kiss, warming the skin beneath his lips, bidding him a final farewell in return. He had loved Gwen, and Gwen had loved him, and he was content in that knowledge.

His team-mate elbowed him in the side, "Hey, kid?" He felt six pairs of eyes looking at him in concern. "You alright?"

"Fine." He replied after a silence. "Just… thinking."

"Okay. You sure about this, kid? You can still back out."

"I'm alright. Let's go." He looked at them all, no regret lingering on his features. They nodded at him, and he returned the gesture.

"Avengers, assemble."


End file.
